Improve Efficiency Essay Example for Free

Improve Efficiency Essay A very high percentage of the items selected (picked) in the distribution centers and re-stocked in the stores were in quantities of 1 case. This company’s roots were as a high volume, limited assortment retailer and distributor. Over time the business had shifted allowing the stores to reorder a higher mix of items at lower volumes. Given the companies market position as a low-price leader, this reduced profit margins. The two root causes of this shift were identified as: 1. Stock-keeping-unit (SKU) count growth outpacing sales growth, and 2. Allowing minimum order quantities from the stores to the distribution centers to drop to a quantity of one This white paper will study how this company quantified the impact of allowing its stores to order in one case quantity and then recalculated minimum order quantities for higher volume items. (For details of how SKUs were reduced see White Paper â€Å"SKU Reduction – Biggest SKLUsers†) A Supply Velocity Consultant led a team of employees through this 5 week project. The Supply Velocity consultant facilitated, but the employees did most of the analysis and therefore owned the improvements. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 2 Project Outline ? Evaluated all SKUs and the case quantity they are most frequently ordered at, to establish baseline data for how stores are ordering ? Time studied retail store shelf restocking and distribution center order selection labor to determine the negative labor productivity impact of the current ordering policy o Graphed the results in a trend chart o Determined that the greatest labor productivity improvement happens when the order quantity increases from just 1 to 2 cases ? Recalculated minimum order quantity for all items using Multi-Variable Pareto analysis based on: o Item unit movement o Pack-out (number of units that fit on the shelf space allocated in stores) o Shelf life ? About 20% of all SKUs had a re-calculated minimum order quantity greater than 1 case o The most conservative methods were used to ensure this project didn’t just push inventory out to stores, resulting in shrink (throwing away items that go beyond their shelf-life limit or are damaged) ? Communicated all items on the minimum order quantity to all stores through a comprehensive communication plan o Communication plan included data to show stores how increasing minimum order quantity on select items would improve their labor productivity ? Created a control plan to ensure new items, SKU reduction and sales history will be used to update the minimum order quantity on a twice yearly basis [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 3 Time Study Analysis To quantify the problem, we time studied order selection in the distribution centers and shelf restocking in retail stores. We conducted a few snapshot analyses of different distribution centers to understand the current state of â€Å"order quantities†. The graph below shows that out of the approximately 2800 items, a majority are ordered in quantities of 1 case. The time study data also showed that the second case selected or stocked is essentially â€Å"free† and the same movement is used for two cases as for one case. At the outset of this project the team was worried that any increase in minimum order quantity would be viewed by store managers as an attempt to push inventory out from the distribution centers to the stores. This data showed that increasing minimum order quantity from one case to just two, gave us the greatest percentage of labor productivity improvement. However, we didn’t just want to increase all items to a 2 case minimum order quantity. Instead, a statistical tool, Multi-Variable Pareto was used to calculate the proper minimum order quantity based on a mix of inputs. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 4 Distribution Center Order Selection Quantity (# of items picked per quantity) 57% of the items in distribution centers were selected at a 1 case quantity [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 5 â€Å"Time to Select per Case Quantity† in the Distribution Centers – Based on case count per selection When selecting 2 cases of a n item, the time per case drops by 45% from 1 case. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 6 Time to Re-Stock SKUs on Shelves in Stores – Based on case count When restocking 2 cases of an item, the time per case drops by 61% from 1 case. This shows that the greatest productivity improvement occurs when going from 1 to 2 cases, which is easier to â€Å"sell† to the stores than making large increases in minimum order quantity. They can reduce labor by 37 seconds per case by ordering and stocking 2 cases of an item versus 1. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 7 Multi Variable Pareto Analysis ? Recalculated minimum order quantity for all items using Multi-Variable Pareto analysis based on: o Item unit movement o Pack-out (number of units that fit on the shelf space allocated in stores) o Shelf life ? About 20% of all SKUs had a re-calculated minimum order quantity greater than 1 case o The most conservative methods were used to ensure this project didn’t just push inventory out to stores, resulting in shrink Multi-Variable Pareto is a method that uses more than one â€Å"measure† to sort SKUs from highest to lowest performing. Normal Pareto Analysis has been used to develop guidelines such as the 80/20 rule (20% of customers generate 80% of sales). When using multiple variables, there has to be a way to normalize the data so all variables are part of the analysis. We used three variables to determine the correct minimum order quantity for an item. ? Cases sold per week on average for each item ? The number of cases that fit in the given shelf space ? Product shelf-life Each of these variables are positively correlated to Minimum Order Quantity. ? The higher the cases sold equals higher Order Quantity ? The greater the shelf space (pack-out) equals higher Order Quantity ? The longer the item’s shelf-life equals higher Order Quantity The team of subject matter experts used retail experience to determine each of these factors and their impact on minimum order quantity. Results of this analysis are shown below. The calculation was very conservative, as the results have shown. Only 466 of 2800 items have a minimum order quantity greater than 1 case. This was largely driven by two factors. Item shelf-life limited our ability to make any shelf-life sensitive item greater than 1 case. Our calculation took this limiting factor into account, to ensure we weren’t causing shrink (throwing away items that go beyond their shelf-life limit or are damaged) at the stores. In addition, lower case movement drove many items to a 1 case minimum, even if they didn’t have shelf life limitations. The lower case movement is due to SKU proliferation and was addressed by the SKU Reduction (Biggest SKLUsers) project. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 8 Results of Minimum Order Quantity Calculation [emailprotected] om Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 9 Communication Control Plan ? Communicated with all retail stores about how the minimum order quantity analysis was conducted and the resulting new plan o Communication plan included data to show stores that increasing minimum order quantity on select items would improve their labor productivity ? Created a control plan so new items, SKU reduction and sales history will update the minimum order quantity on a twice yearly basis It was critical that this project was presented as a positive for our retail store-customers. We created a communication plan that showed two key aspects of this change: ? The conservative nature of the change o only 466 of 2800 items are receiving a minimum order quantity increase ? This change is good for the stores and will improve their labor productivity To ensure that this process endures and does not get reversed over time we included a control plan. This is shown in the graphic below. As Category Marketing Managers evaluate items, adding and reducing SKUs, changes will be reflected in new pack-out quantities. This quantity will get fed to Distribution Technology who will recalculate this items’ minimum order quantity using the same Multi-Variable Pareto calculation. A control group, made up of Merchandising, Distribution and Retail Directors will review the list, make changes in the ordering system and communicate changes to store customers. [emailprotected] com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 10 Results By taking the higher sales volume SKUs and increasing the store minimum order quantity, we decreased the time per case to stock shelves in the stores and select items in the distribution centers. Using only the 1 to 2 case increase in minimum order quantity for the 466 SKUs reduced the labor time per case resulting in a labor savings of $1. 2 million. The expectation for this process is to slowly grow the number items with a minimum order quantity greater than 1 case beyond 20%. By rationalizing and reducing SKUs we should increase the shelf pack-out of remaining items, thereby increasing the minimum order quantity.

Respiratory System: Purpose and Physiology

Respiratory System: Purpose and Physiology The purpose of the respiratory system is to allow gas exchange throughout all body parts of most animals. The evolution of the respiratory system is responsible for different respiratory structures in diverse animals and it has allowed them to keep up with their oxygen demands. It functions by removing carbon dioxide from the lungs and replenishing it with oxygen. In this paper I will compare the respiratory system of Tursiops truncatus and Chelonia mydas. The bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are warm blooded mammals that live all of their life in the ocean. Tursiops truncatus are from the kingdom Animalia, class Mammalia, order Cetacea, and family Delphinidae. They belong to the genus Tursiops and species truncatus. On the other hand, the Chelonia mydas are cold blooded reptiles that live most of their life in the ocean but return to the land to lay their eggs. The Chelonia mydas are from the kingdom Animalia as well, and just like the Tursiops truncatus, they both belong to the phylum Chordata. Also, Chelonia mydas are from the class Reptilia, order Testudines, family Cheloniidae, genus Chelonia and species mydas (Lecointre, 2007). The Tursiops truncatus and Chelonia mydas spend their lives in the ocean and spend a vast amount of time submerged in water and yet the physiology of their respiratory system varies greatly, however; their lung capacity, and gas exchange methods, can be found to have certain similarities (Reynolds, et. al., 2000, Spotila, 2004). The physiology of respiratory system of the Tursiops truncatus and the Chelonia mydas are dissimilar in many aspects. To begin, Tursiops truncatus do not breathe through their mouths, instead they breathe through a blowhole which is located at the top of their head (Reynolds, et. Al., 2000). Also, Tursiops truncatus are involuntary breathers, which mean that they have to constantly remember that they have to go to the surface and breathe. If a dolphin ever goes unconscious it will suffocate and drown. The position of the blowhole allows dolphins to go to the surface and only expose a small region of the head into the air to breathe. This allows the Tursiops truncatus to swim and breathe at the same time. The blowhole is the outer component of their respiratory system and it contains muscles that surround it which allows for the skin at the top of their blowhole to open and close, it is known as the nasal plug. The nasal plug helps prevent water from coming in when the Tursiops trunca tus is underwater. Also, their respiratory system is completely separate from the digestive tract, therefore; only air gets into the lungs and it doesnt get obstructed by food or water. The lungs of dolphins are not bigger than the lungs other land mammals, which mean that their lung size doesnt play a role in how much oxygen is absorbed. On the contrary, Chelonia mydas breathe through their mouth. Their respiratory system is composed of the right and left lungs; they also contain a glottis, a bronchus, and a trachea. The glottis is positioned right after the tongue. It opens when the turtle is breathing and it closes when the turtle holds its breath. The trachea is situated after the glottis and splits into the two bronchi. The two bronchi extend to the lungs. The bronchi serve as a passage which allows for air to enter the lungs and exit the same way. The bronchi continue to split throughout the lungs giving rise to the alveoli. In the alveoli sacs is where most of the process of gas exchange takes place. Turtles dont have a diaphragm to help them with ventilation of the lungs and instead they use ventral muscles which are located at the pelvic and pectoral girdles area. The lungs of Chelonia mydas are complex since they are multi-chambered; this increases their pulmonary resistance, thus allowing them to stay subme rged under water for many hours. The pressure of being underwater helps turtles breathe out and the ventral muscles help them breathe in. Further, even though there is a difference in the physiology of the respiratory system of the Tursiops truncatus and the Chelonia mydas, their lung capacity shows some similarities. Tursiops truncatus have very efficient lungs because they have a great amount of tidal volume due to the amount of alveoli cells that they contain in their lungs. They also have very elastic tissues in their lungs, and this elasticity accounts for their great lung capacity. Tursiops truncatus can exchange more than three fourths of their air volume in a single breath. They can dive for periods of about 15 minutes at a time but their lungs cannot retain great amounts of oxygen and therefore they cannot stay underwater for prolonged periods of time. In addition, Tursiops truncatus can dive deep into the ocean for more than 150 meters. Around this depth their lungs subside causing an increase in blood pressure, which is fatal to humans, but Tursiops truncatus manage to slow the pressure before it gets to the brain. Also, after diving big depths and going to the surface to breathe immediately one would expect Tursiops truncatus to feel sick after such decrease in pressure but they experience no side effects because they hold their breath while diving. Chelonia mydas also have tidal volume which helps them breathe faster and exchange gas in a more effective manner. They can exchange about half their air volume in a single breath. Additionally, they can stay under water for many hours. This adaptation is possible due to the fact that they are cold blooded and have a slow metabolism which slows their heart rate for about seven heart beats per minute allowing them to be able to conserve more oxygen. However the lungs become compressed as they move down and as a result they also lose buoyancy. To account for this the Chelonia mydas become naturally buoyant at certain depth thus allowing the lungs to be able to retain more oxygen. As a result, the deeper that Chelonia mydas dive the more their oxygen storing capacity increases, Further, the gas exchange of the Tursiops truncatus and Chelonia mydas has some similarities and differences. First, the Tursiops truncatus have made adaptations to their circulatory system which has allowed them to store oxygen more efficiently and to use it more effectively. Tursiops truncates have lungs that contain many alveoli, which are air cells, thus making gas exchange in them occur much faster. Tursiops truncates store oxygen in their blood and muscles because during long dives the oxygen can be accessed easily. Additionally, Chelonia mydas have made adaptations to be able to withstand long periods of dives under water. The major mechanism for gas exchange in the Chelonia mydas is the lung, however; the ability of their blood to uptake large amounts of oxygen is also very important for gas exchange. Chelonia mydas can tolerate high amounts of carbon dioxide in their blood. In conclusion, Tursiops truncates and Chelonia mydas share certain characteristics and differences when it comes to their respiratory system. The physiology of their respiratory systems is very different from each other since Tursiops truncates dont breathe through their mouth and Chelonia mydas do. However, their lung capacity and gas exchange mechanisms can be said to be fairly similar. Tursiops truncates and Chelonia mydas store oxygen in their blood to use during periods of long dives. Also, they can effectively exchange more than half of their air volume in a single breath (Reynolds, et. al., 2000; Spotila, 2004). It is important to learn about the respiratory system of these animals because knowing how they live will help ensure their survival and give us a better understanding of their needs.

Latino Dual Identity Essay -- Hispanic Culture, Identity Essays

Latinos who were raised in the United States of America have a dual identity. They were influenced by both their parents' ancestry and culture in addition to the American culture in which they live. Growing up in between two very different cultures creates a great problem, because they cannot identify completely with either culture and are also caught between the Spanish and English languages. Further more they struggle to connect with their roots. The duality in Latino identity and their search for their own personal identity is strongly represented in their writing. The following is a quote that expresses this idea in the words of Lucha Corpi, a Latina writer: "We Chicanos are like the abandoned children of divorced cultures. We are forever longing to be loved by an absent neglectful parent - Mexico - and also to be truly accepted by the other parent - the United States. We want bicultural harmony. We need it to survive. We struggle to achieve it. That struggle keeps us alive" ( Gr iwold ). Latinos often use Christian and religious imagery in their writing. The strongly religious memories and values instilled upon during their upbringing are often also used to represent innocence and/or their childhood ( Najarro ). Most Latinos who were raised in the United States had parents who ardently clung to the strict religious beliefs carried with them from their mother country. Therefore as Latinos struggle to connect themselves with their culture they find the Catholic faith strongly rooted in their past. Another struggle for identity with Latinos is their struggle with the Spanish and English languages. While some Latinos may speak Spanish in their homes, the language may not be conversationally used in their schools. Some Lat... ...r own personal identity and how others view them. They are caught between to very different cultures and consequently often don't know how to find a way to balance the two. As Latino-Americans move farther away from their roots and struggle to find some common ground between the two cultures the polar duality in their identity will continue to be an extremely common theme in Latino writing. Works Cited Griswold,Lisa. Voices from the Gap. 2002. 16 Sept. 2003 . Najarro.Adela. "Angles in the Kitchen:Latino Poets and the Search for Identity." Adela Najarro's Website. 24 Oct. 2002. 16. Sept. 2003 Rysavy, Tracy. "Secrets of a Poet Spy." Yes. A Journal of Positive Futures. Oct. 1999. 16. Sept. 2003.

The Changing Family Revealed in Grapes of Wrath Essay -- Grapes Wrath

The Changing Family Revealed in Grapes of Wrath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   The emphasis on family in America is decreasing. Divorce rates, single-parent households, and children born out of wedlock are all increasing. Furthermore, instead of the network of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives that was prevalent in early America, Americans today are more distant from their extended family. As sociologist David Elkind said in a 1996 interview with Educational Leadership, "Instead of togetherness, we have a new focus on autonomy. The individual becomes more important than the family" (4). This means that one of the basic needs of humanity, belongingness and love, is very likely going unfilled in many people.    The changing family isn't a new issue.   John Steinbeck began to explore the changes taking place in the family during the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. Though the book has many layers and themes, one of the major one's is the changing family. In 1933, six years before publishing the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck wrote a letter to George Albee saying, "[Man] also arranges himself into larger units, which I have called the phalanx" (Life in Letters, 79). He cites religion, the MOB, and various war-time armies as examples of a phalanx, but surely the family unit falls into the category of larger, interconnected groups of people. In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck explores the need for family and the changing family structure through the lens of a Great Depression era family, the Joads.    That the Joad family mutates due to their trials is undoubtable. What the Joads were like originally can only be imagined. By the beginning of the novel, the family has already lost its home and had to move in wi... ...ace in the World. New York: New York University Press, 1993. * Morrow, Jeff. Personal Interview. April 23, 1998. * Noble, Donald R. ed. The Steinbeck Question: New Essays in Criticism. Troy, New York, 1993. * Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994. * Steinbeck, John. A Life in Letters. New York: Penguin Books, 1969. * Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1930. * Swerdlow, Amy, et al. Families in Flux. New York: The Feminist Press,1989. * Timmerman, John H. John Steinbeck's Fiction: The Aesthetics of the Road Taken. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. * Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations, Third Edition. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1997. * Wyatt, David ed. New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

An Analysis of Roland Barthes’ Death of the Author Essay -- Death of th

An Analysis of Roland Barthes’ Death of the Author â€Å"The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author.† – Roland Barthes Must the Author be dead to make way for the birth of the reader? In Roland Barthes’ essay â€Å"The Death of the Author,† Barthes asserts that the Author is dead because the latter is no longer a part of the deep structure in a particular text. To him, the Author does not create meaning in the text: one cannot explain a text by knowing about the person who wrote it. A text, however, cannot physically exist disconnected from the Author who writes it. Even if the role of the Author is to mix pre-existing signs, it does not follow that the Author-function is dead. Moreover, Barthes attributes â€Å"authorship† to the reader who forms meaning and understanding. The reader is, however, an abstraction â€Å"without history, biography, psychology†(Barthes 1469). These contexts – history, biography, and psychology – can only be set by the Author. Thus, the Author is alive and well because the text cannot exist without the Author, the mix ing of signs is the Author’s art, and the reader’s meanings forming abilities are nourished by the Author. According to Barthes’ notion of the â€Å"cut-off hand,† a text’s origin is language itself (Barthes 1468). Moreover, â€Å"linguistically, the author is never more than the instance writing, just as I is nothing other than the instance saying I: language knows a ‘subject’, not a ‘person’† (Barthes 1467). What about the Author’s physical presence? Certainly, language itself does not know its physical creator, but it is akin to shutting one’s eyes on reality to not acknowledge the Author who is â€Å"out there.† Because his texts were considered â€Å"da... ...r-Response Criticism.† October 1998. The College of New Rochelle. March 27, 2004 . O’Brien, John. Milan Kundera and feminism: Dangerous intersections. Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 1995. Project Gutenberg. â€Å"What books will I find in Project Gutenberg?† March 28, 2004 . Zilcosky, John. â€Å"The Revenge of the Author: Paul Auster’s Challenge to Theory.† Studies in Contemporary Fiction 39, 3 (Spring 1998): 195-207. 1 â€Å"Himself†, â€Å"him†, â€Å"his†, and â€Å"he† are used for brevity in expressing pronouns of both the male and female genders. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1][1] â€Å"Himself†, â€Å"him†, â€Å"his†, and â€Å"he† are used for brevity in expressing pronouns of both the male and female genders.

Marketing Management UBER Analysis Essay

1. Introduction Application software has been very popular as distribution platforms since 2008 due to rapid spread of smartphones all around the worldwide. According to a marketing research done by Gartner (2013), there is an increasing trend in mobile apps usage worldwide, He indicates that 21.58 billion dollars of  revenue has been made by mobile apps in 2013. Uber was established in 2009 as a digital platform that connects cab drivers and customer, by downloading the online application. Uber determines the location of customers and shows the location of the cabs nearby. Once the customer accepts to get a ride with push of a botton, the application is then authorized to take the payment based on the credit card information that has been registered under the customer’s name, without any further exchanges. Uber was established in San Francisco and has become the world’s most valuable startup in the past five years. Uber’s latest market value has been determined as 18.2 billon dollars in June 2014. However, as a disadvantage of developing markets, the entrance of Gett and Hailo in the UK market, decreased Uber’s market value. The major advantage of Gett in this compà ©titive market against Uber is charging flat fees unlike Uber. Uber has a surge pricing strategy depending on the demand, weather and distance, which is not a cost efficient way for customer. Therefore Uber it is not the cost leader in the UK e-hail market. On the other hand surge pricing has persuaded more driver to work for Uber, as it is more in their favor so that, they will not have to go through bad weather conditions or give rides in the rush hour with the usual flat fares. 2. Audit 2.a Organizational environment The increasing trend of smartphone usage especially in younger generation, technological improvements and increasing value for time perception established Uber’s increasing value. 2.b Uber’s business model Uber employs driver after they and their cars have been screened by Uber to  ensure comfort and safety of customers, Drivers are also given an iPhone once they have become a member of Uber. Uber drivers have higher income compared to traditional taxi drivers also they do not have to pay for the taxi license and the taxes that black cab driver are obligated to pay. On the consumer side, after downloading Uber, they can track the car as it approaches them on their as well as having some information about their driver before arrival such as previous reviews and ratings and their photo. Uber ‘s pricing strategy is based on the demand, distance and the car type, incase of high demands or bad weather conditions customers may have to pay a higher fee for their journey or depending and the type of car they request prices are different. Payment is done by the credit card information that the customer is registered the app with. Transactions are totally safe and secure. Uber splits the ride receipts with the driver. Uber originally used to take 20% margin of the transaction between the customer and the driver, which is now reduced to 15% due to high compà ©titions with Gett and Hailo. Uber covers its Research and technology developments, marketing and employees expenses by the percentage they take on each transaction. Another advantage is that Uber does not own a fleet of cars so they are much less costly than their competitors, This low cost business model enables Uber to keep the large percentage of it’s revenue as profits. Uber grows by reinvesting in R&D and acquisitions rather than investing in cars or expensive infrastructures. In the spotlight of this information, it is possible to say that Uber’s business model is low inventory, high transaction and high margin. Moreover, its business model is receiving the majority of funding from Google Venture. 2.c External and internal analysis of Uber Analyzing Uber from the resource-based view is crucial to understand competitive advantages of it in London taxi hailing app market. Constraints imposed by environment can have a big impact on Uber’s strategic planning and marketing. Therefore, six external conditions (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economical and Legal) will be examined in relation to Uber’s business situation by using PESTEL analysis. Political factors effects transport services external environment in terms of CO2 emissions and climate change. Even though Political factors are more in favor of public transport in order to decrease CO2 emissions and help with the climate. Uber however is providing a superior service comparing to their competitors for instance Uber is offers hybrid cars, which is low in emissions and makes it easier for Uber to have some advantage when it comes to the political factors. Environmental factors such as weather conditions can affect Uber for instance higher demand due to bad weather conditions is evident. The price of the  journeys also increases when the demand is higher. Social factors including the change in lifestyle and high percentage of younger population using smartphones, indicates the customer needs, which brings them to the market. Technology developments have a major impact on Uber’s business. Increasing role of Internet in people’s life is also crucial for Uber to make innovations. Economical factors such as recessions influence directly the customer’s budget, therefore their buying power. On the other hand volatile fuel prices can have a huge impact on pricing and they are also quite unpredictable. Legal constraints also have a direct impact on Uber. Governments have the possibility to ban Uber, which is already the case in Germany, or even set new regulations for Taxi hailing apps such as Uber which can affect their performance in the market. In the next section we under take a SWOT analysis in order to analyze Uber’s Capabilities, which enables us to determine the company’s Strengths and Weaknesses as well as pointing out Threats and Opportunities. It is essential in a competitive market to be aware of the weaknesses and threats in order to be able to find solutions for them and also use the opportunities to gain more of them market share and hence increase the revenues. Figure 2: Presents SWOT analysis Strengths; which consist of internal capabilities, Uber was first in the market which creates a competitive advantage by high consumer awareness. One of the strengths of Uber is that, it has different alternatives for different customers. For example, Uber POP and UberX car alternatives are available for a cheap and fast drive, whereas if the customer is searching for quality it offers them the Uber Black Car and Uber SUV. Another strength  of Uber is that it has spread worldwide starting from USA. It has expanded through 200 cities worldwide. Moreover, the transactions are easy, safe and trustworthy. It offers a convenient way of travelling for costumers. Weaknesses indicate the areas that could be improved internally. The major point that is considered as a weakness for Uber is that they do not charge flat fees whereas Gett, which is their main competitor, offers flat and predictable prices. Moreover, Uber drivers do not have a taxi license, which can cause legal problems by time. However it operates in many cities, Uber does not operate in rural areas, which can be considered as a weakness. One of the complaints that Uber is facing is the poor consumer service. Uber offers a surge pricing for its drivers and do not hire them, but find them through agents. Analyzing the opportunities in depth we can determine that the most influential aspect in Uber’s business model is the fact that it’s a service rather than a product hence they do not have the high sunk costs that their competitors have to deal with. Moreover, being a mobile platform and not having a fleet of taxis, which is highly costly, has enabled the firm to turn most of its revenues into profits. These revenues are made from transaction costs rather than production cost. Uber does not employ drivers, which in this case allows the drivers flexibility also permit Uber to employ more drivers. The most important external threat for Uber in UK e-hail app market is the decreasing market share due to competitors such as Gett. The flat prices of Gett and some other competitors are creating a disadvantage for Uber. Not having the proper taxi license is another disadvantage for Uber. aside from that, there have been many protests by taxi companies in Germany, France, England and other nations accusing Uber to be illegal due to the fact that their driver are not paying the same tax rates as other taxi drivers, and other taxi companies accuse Uber of compromising passenger safety, and undermining legislations which exists for them. Competitors: According to the statistics of market shares of taxi hailing apps in London, Gett with 20-30% of market share is the market leader, Uber with 20% shares is the market challenger and Hailo with 10% is the follower in the market. Uber as the challenger is in a position where they can undertake some of the facilities and services that Gett is already providing for their customers in order to be able to improve their service, gain more customer and consequently gain more market share over time. Outlining the competitive landscape is important to appraise competition and indicating the strengths of the competitors can give the company objectives on what can be improved and examine weather they can be implemented by Uber. According to national statistics from department for transport, it is estimated that there are 78 thousand taxis and 153 thousand licensed private hire vehicles in England. The fÄ ±gures present that the number of PHV are twice the number of taxÄ ±s operatÄ ±ng in England. 31% of total licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England are in London from which we can assume that private hirÄ ±ng is a popular choice for Londoners. Analyzing Gett-Taxi as the market leader we can imply that some of their most influential advantages are: Competing with flat and predictable prices: People who take taxis are not usually loyal to a specific brand and most people would choose the cheaper option and Gett has the advantage by having predictable prices without surge pricing. Enables Advance booking: Unlike Uber, Gett offers advance booking 2 weeks prior to journey whereas Uber has failed to implement this feature in their app. Offers 24 hours customer service for driver and customers: Uber has proven to be quite poor at following through with customer enquiries. On the other hand the only major advantage of Hailo that we came across is the fact that they are the only company, which has a real taxi license for all their cars. 3. Strategic Options: According to Porter, competitive advantage is derived from the value a firm  is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm’s cost of creating it. Utility of Uber can be increased by the following three categories: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Service: Reducing the time to reach customers when they need the service can enhance Uber’s service. The cab and the driver have to be reliable and can provide modern and comfortable cabs for service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Personnel: service can be provided with professional drivers, drivers must be trained to provide personalised customer service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Image: Advertising, promotions on special days and to first users. Porter’s Generic Strategies: Porter called the generic strategies has three direction where the market can be segment or focused on particular path. They are 1. Cost Leadership, 2. Differentiation 3. Focus The Focus strategy has been subdivided into two parts: â€Å"Cost Focus† and â€Å"Differentiation Focus†. (Refer below figure) The Cost Leadership Strategy This strategy will help to gain competitive advantage through two main methods such as maximising profits by declining costs while selling for average price in the particular industry or growing market share through selling for lower prices, although still producing a even-handed profit on each sale as you’ve focused on lowering the cost. The Differentiation Strategy This strategy involves in creating your goods or services different from others and more eye-catching for your customers as well as to your competitors. Differentiation strategy can be achieved in a success way through good exploration about the goods or services, expansion and innovation of the goods or services, and the ability to provide superior quality products or services. This will create an inimitable image in the particular industry and alongside some scopes will lead to be valued by consumers. The Focus Strategy The Focus strategy is concentrating on specific niche markets through considerate the associations of that specific niche market and the  exceptional needs of consumers in it. This can be exclusively low-cost or well-specified goods or services on that particular industry. This will construct strong brand loyalty among consumers. This will lead the market segment to be less attractive to the competitors. Uber’s marketing strategy is to provide a premium service at premium price and have loyal customers. It aims at hip, tech-savvy customers whose time is valuable and who are willing to spend money for convenience. The campaign of Uber focuses on the service. The ice cream campaign in NYC is an example of the difference in convenience and experience. Where else could you have an on demand ice cream truck pull up in front of your house delivering ice cream for few people? The focus is on providing an extraordinary experience for the customer and let them do the talking about the brand and the unique service. Uber is having partnerships with Virgin America, which offers Uber’s points to its flyer members which increases awareness and credibility to their service. And Trulia is a real-estate company provide prospective renters a discount for up to three apartment visits as long as they registered for this promotion. Potter’s Five Forces Analysis states that business can be affected by some facts which are determine the competitive power of the business to drive in reality. The fact can be classified into five important forces. They are Supplier power, Buyer power, Threat of substitute, Threat of New Entry and Competitive Rivalry. 1. Supplier Power: the number of suppliers involved determines the supplier power in the particular business and the exclusivity of their goods or service, their business strength and power over your business, and the cost of swapping from one supplier to another. UBER’s suppliers power is high because UBER don’t employ drivers, free-lanced drivers get register with UBER and get the training and the guidelines before start their self-employment. 2. Buyer Power: the number of buyers involved determines the buyer’s power in the particular business, the cost to the buyer to swapping from your goods and services to someone else. UBER’s buyer power is high because it’s a  mobile platform and customers have different alternative services like Gett and Hailo. 3. Competitive Rivalry: the number of capability of your competitors determines the competitive rivalry. When the business has more competitors, and if the competitor can offer equally attractive products and services, then the competitive rivalry is high. UBER’s competitors are Gett and Hailo, they provide service in lower cost and they have their own drivers. 4. Threat of Substitution: the number of alternative options of your customers determines the threat of substitute. When the service or the goods has more substitute, then the threat of substitute is high. UBER’s threat of substitute is high because in London there is many substitute such as tubes, trains, buses, and black cabs. 5. Threat of New Entry: the capability of other business can enter into your market space by starting up a similar business like you is the threat of new entry. If the startup cost is low in terms of capital, time, and technology the new competitor can enter in to your market easily. Uber’s threat of new entry is very high because entering to taxi service business is very easy because the new business needs a simple mobile application and some free-lanced drivers. Alternative Market Directions for Uber Diversification strategies/path: Uber can focus on Event specific marketing like special events such as Valentine’s Day, Harvesting day, Children’s Day, Christmas and New Year days. Uber can provide special offers or promotions for its loyal customers. Personalised Car/Cab with the special trained driver for business people, celebrities and high-class tourists. Market development Strategies/Path: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Expand the market with average pricing in nearby small cities and rural areas to attract more new customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local hotel chains and airport local travel unit to provide transport service such as site seeing, and airport pic & drop to  their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long-term partnership with local schools to proved service for their students. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new business wing/unit for disable people to accommodate their transport need with the special features they need. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with courier service organisations like Royal Mail, DHL, and FedEx to provide their delivery service to their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local manufacturing companies to support their logistic service such as transporting to shipping, delivering goods to their customers, and transporting their raw materials for their production. 4. Marketing Strategies Uber focuses on hiring local drivers in each city. They are trying to localize the company in each city in every aspect they see. The effect of that is building a trust between the company, the drivers, and the customers all together. After hiring local drivers, Uber give these drivers trainings and guidelines to teach them the â€Å"Uber Way†. They also provide their employees with a global chat room that they interact in, talk, give ideas and suggestions, and best practices are shared across the company. So by cultivating collaboration and building trust internally and externally, Uber is trying to gain a competitive advantage in order to increase their market share, therefor increasing revenue. Uber likes to surprise and delight their customers. For example they delivered kittens and ice cream in New York. This is on of Uber’s ways to allow customer actions to go viral on social media and offline to try to send their message to new markets in order to gain new opportunities. Uber uses a unique way in serving their customers. They have a special team whose mission is to make sure customers get their taxi when and where they need them in no more than 9 minutes. They created a referral program integrated in the Uber app. It gives customers the ability to share a special code between their friends, and in that way Uber can track how many shares made, which indicates the percentage  of Uber’s customer’s acquisition. Uber’s Marketing Objectives: 1. Offer Better Service. 2. More Reliability. 3. Improve Customer Support. 4. Unique Style. 5. Provide Comfort. 6. Reduce Frustration. 6. Critical Analysis: The SMART analysis indicates that Uber can have many ways to improve every aspect in the company. Their objectives are not time-oriented. On the other had, their objectives are all achievable and relevant to the company’s mission. The analyses also show that most of the strategies and suggestions given are specific, achievable, and relevant. That indicates that Uber has many opportunities that they can benefit from in order to gain more competitive advantage and to operate better in the market. 7. Conclusion: Overall market share of Uber in e-hailing market can be increased by implementing some strategies.The report shows that Uber has many opportunities to increase their market value, market share and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Looking at the analysis we realise that Uber has a very high potential in achieving their objective about gaining customers and eventually increase their revenue. Along the side of improving some of their services, following some of the strategies mentioned above and solutions suggested by us, proves that Uber has a high potential and can use the first mover advantage. Distribution channel of Uber can be improved by targeting other parallel industries and move customers into greater contribution. Branding image of Uber can increase its value by providing good service and the operating areas can be increased to reach a higher volume of customers. Moreover, the opportunities discovered by using the analysis might be considered as a useful w ay of taking Uber to a higher position in the e-hail market in London. 10. References: Anon, How is Uber different from a standard taxi? Available at: https://support.Uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201968463-How-is-Uber-different-from-a-standard-taxi- [Accessed November 13, 2014a]. Anon, The Business Co-Founder. Available at: http://businesscofounder.tumblr.com/post/34572063959/lessons-from-Ubers-marketing-strategy [Accessed November 13, 2014b]. Damodaran, A., 2014. A Disruptive Cab Ride to Riches: The Uber Payoff.Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/aswathdamodaran/2014/06/10/a-disruptive-cab-ride-to-riches-the-Uber-payoff/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Department for Transport (2013) ‘Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013’. Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-and-wales-2013 (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Ferrell, O., Dibb, S. and Simkin, L. (2005) Marketing: Concepts and Strategies. United States: Houghton Mifflin Company. Ferrell, O. and Hartline, M. (2011) Marketing Strategy. United States: South-Western Cengage Learning. Winer, R. and Dhar, R. (2010) Marketing Management – 4th Edition. United States: Prentice Hall. GURLEY, B., Above the Crowd. Available at: http://abovethecrowd.com/2014/07/11/how-to-miss-by-a-mile-an-alternative-look-at-Ubers-potential-market-size/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Hill, H. (2009) London Chamber. Available at: http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/docimages/2519.pdf (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Kell, J., Berlin bans Uber app, citing passenger safety concerns. Available at: http://fortune.com/2014/08/14/Uber-berlin-band/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. MACMILLAN, D., The Wall Street Journal. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/14/Uber-and-lyft-insurance-now-covers-drivers-between-rides/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Mathieu, F., Francois Mathieu shared: Taxi War: Uber vs Hailo. Available at: http://quibb.com/links/taxi-war-Uber-vs-hailo [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Palmer, S., 2013. GetTaxi – Some Real Competition for Uber in NYC T. H. Post, ed.Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-palmer/gettaxi–some-real-compet_b_3743958.html [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Think, B., 2014.How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra, How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfA8wzWP02Q [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Uber, 2013.How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber, How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2M0RD7bhYY [Accessed November 13, 2014]. WOHLSEN, M., Uber’s Biggest Danger Is Its Business Model, Not Bad PR. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-peril-to-Uber-is-its-business-model-not-bad-pr/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Porter, Michael E., â€Å"Competitive Advantage†. 1985, Ch. 1, pp 11-15. The Free Press. New York.

Individualism in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Essay

Individualism is a very important thing in everyone’s life, its part of our personality as portrayed in the story called, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Taking away that individualism is taking apart some of that person. The book in many ways shows what would happen if no one was different and all the people in the world were the same, or basically how disastrous. One example is when the Bergeron’s were watching TV and the announcer came on to announce. He started out enthusiastically and with fire, but automatically got a shock. He tried to act out and be the announcer man with energy, but since everyone was the same he just gave up and let the ballerina read the announcements in monotone voice. Now I for one would never want to hear n announcer that talked in one tone the whole entire time. I addition Vonnegut shows another example is how all the smart and beautiful people have to wear mental and physical handicaps. They wear those handicaps because the government wanted to make everyone equal. So basically if you were even a little bit smart, you would get a handicap and that went with physical attributes too. Finally, the author uses the character Harrison as how most people should act, but being someone different. He acted out and rebelled against the government when they were forcing everyone to be the same. Instead of going with the flow he chose to be himself, and literally broke the chains that the government was using to handicap him. Overall, being you is the best thing to do in life, but society today is portraying the perfect kid that everyone is trying to be.